Cork: Being the story of the origin of cork, the processes employed in its manufacture & its various uses in the world to-day

by Armstrong Cork Company

Cork under the Microscope

The Civil War interfered, however, and the experiments were never fully carried out.

Bark arriving at a Boiling Station

The stripping generally takes place during July and August, and is a process which demands skill and care if injury to the tree is to be avoided. In Algeria, the French strippers sometimes use crescent-shaped saws; but under the usual Spanish method a hatchet with a long handle, wedge-shaped at the end, is the only implement employed.

The Common Carrier

The bark is cut clear through around the base of the tree and a similar incision is made around the trunk just below the spring of the main branches; the two incisions are then connected by one or two longitudinal cuts, following so far as possible the deepest of the natural cracks in the bark.